You Will NOT BELIEVE The Pay Gap Between The Last Of Us Stars Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey

No one would be surprised to hear Pedro Pascal made more than Bella Ramsey on The Last Of Us. But this much more??

The fellow Game of Thrones “new favorite characters” star in the acclaimed video game adaptation as Joel and Ellie, two strangers who have to make their way across the country together in a post-apocalypse, fighting their way through fungus-infected zombies, vicious raiders, and heartbreaking gay love stories. By the end of the first season, they probably have about the same amount of screen time. But their take-home ain’t close at all!

According to a report in Variety way back in 2021, Pedro’s deal earned him $600,000 per episode for the HBO hit. But now multiple sources are reporting Bella was paid just $70,000! That means he got paid nearly NINE TIMES what she did! That is some pay gap.

As with almost every aspect of the franchise, fans are split in their reactions to the reports. On the one hand, this could be seen as another glaring example of the pervasive pay equity problem that’s plagued Hollywood for decades. We’ve heard countless times how women are paid less — sometimes far less — than their male counterparts. Not like we’ll ever be able to forget the time Mark Wahlberg made A THOUSAND times more than Michelle Williams for some reshoots.

On the other hand… one would certainly expect Pedro to get paid more. Obviously $600k is a big chunk of change to be sure. But the 48-year-old was already a name when he signed his deal, having starred in movies AND proven himself as a TV lead on Disney+‘s megahit The Mandalorian. He was beloved. He was a known quantity. Hence why he was offered the role outright — it’s a star vehicle for him. Bella’s star is rising fast, but at 19 years old she’s still very new in the business. If anything, this show is her star-making opportunity. We mean, she had to audition for the role and everything! Meanwhile, he’s already a draw.

This is certainly how it works in Hollywood, right? Well… We just keep coming back to those numbers. NINE TIMES. That’s a hell of a gap. There doesn’t necessarily have to be this much of a difference, does there? They’re doing the same job. NINE TIMES the pay?

The showrunners are always saying in the behind-the-scenes material how crucial her casting has been, what a find she was, how the show wouldn’t work without her. All we have to say is, we hope her agent is paying attention to all those kind words being shared when it comes to renegotiating for future seasons!

Where do YOU land, Perezcious readers? Is this an acceptable pay gap considering what they brought to the table coming in? Or is this one of those examples of Hollywood math that needs to change a bit?

[Image via HBO/YouTube.]